Midnight, the most feared woman in the world, is a force to be reckoned with. If she doesn't end your life, she'll leave you stronger. A master of many trades-businesswoman, assassin, bounty hunter, and thief-she handles every challenge with deadly precision. Whether you need a business deal secured or a name crossed off a hit list, Midnight is your go-to solution. Behind the scenes, she's the secret owner of exclusive speakeasies, underground fight clubs, high-end bars, and various other enterprises. She controls the black market for jewels, weapons, and priceless treasures, her influence reaching far and wide. Then there's Stanley Rodriguez, the American-Italian mafia Don and the most feared man alive. Betraying him means paying in blood. With an iron grip on his empire, Stanley is untouchable-or so he believes. Not even the Columbians, the world's second-largest drug distributors, dare challenge him. When these two powerhouses collide, their mutual attraction sparks an intensity that could prove fatal. Martina Vince, scarred by the pain of losing her mother and enduring her father's abuse, has followed in her mother's footsteps as a cunning con artist. In her pursuit of survival, she crosses paths with the enigmatic and dangerously alluring Sanchez Romano. Sanchez, the leader of the world's second-largest mafia, presents Martina with a proposition: pretend to be his girlfriend for six months to appease his mother. In return, if Martina doesn't fall for him, he'll return the set of emeralds she's accused him of stealing. But as their fake relationship blurs the lines between pretense and reality, their undeniable chemistry threatens to ignite a passion that could destroy them both. Will they risk everything for their attraction, even if it's destined to be their undoing?
Chapter 1 1
"Midnight," Stanley breathes as he studies the black and white image of himself, clutched in his right hand. A moment ago when he walked into his office with his team behind him; he noticed a picture and a note pinned by a dagger to the oakwood desk. She didn't have to sign the note for him to know it was Midnight. Her infamous M/O was enough to send shivers of fear down anyone's spine. No matter how fearless you think you are or how untouchable you are, no matter how much you think you can run from her; you can't.
Once you're marked by Midnight you'll be dead within the next twenty-four hours.
"You've been marked," Mario, Stanley's explosives expert, gasps in shock.
"Yes," He confirms. "Although, for some reason, I don't feel as if she wants to kill me." Seeing their looks he adds. "Not now, at least."
"What do you mean?" Alessio, his head of security asks. "You know how it works with Midnight. Once you're marked you'll be dead come next evening."
"The note," He says sliding the note across the smooth desk towards his team. "They say you know when you're about to die. You have a feeling. No matter how much you crave death, no matter if you wish it upon yourself; you know. For me, I'm not afraid of dying. I've felt the presence of death far too many times. I don't feel like I did when I was shot in Bangkok. I don't feel like I did when my father attempted to assassinate me. I don't feel anything."
"Perhaps you feel nothing because you've accepted death," Devina, his weapons specialist remarks. "You have welcomed death far too many times. You don't fear dying. You've embraced it."
"No," Says Marvin, his right hand and the most intelligent person Stanley has ever met besides her. "The quote Midnight used talks about life going on. She is either mocking the fact that she will be killing you in the near future or she is saving your life. The quote could mean someone is after you and beseeched of her assistance to take care of the job and she left this as a warning to watch your back."
"Marvin, have you lost your mind?" Devina asks her brother seriously. He quirks his right brow at her question. "Midnight is ruthless. She kills with no mercy, she'll kill anyone no questions asked. The woman is a legend for a reason. She has and will never leave a target breathing."
"No, Devina I have not lost my mind." Marvin huffs. "It's just a theory. I've never seen her mark in person, but I've also never heard of her leaving anything other than the picture. This is a message of some sort."
"I completely agree," Anderson, Stanleys' hacker says.
"As do I," Mario and Alessio say in unison.
"Robert Frost," Stanley muses. "The world's deadliest woman enjoys poetry."
"Indeed I do," A voice says to the left of him. All seven heads, including his sharply turn towards the balcony where a woman dressed in a black trench coat and a fedora leans against his open balcony door. Her head is angled down so the only thing visible is her tan sharp angular cheekbones, her blood-red lips, and her thick black hair. Hair so black the black hole would be jealous.
"You'll look at me when you speak," Stanley commands in a deadly calm tone. She throws her head back and laughs. He glimpses a black lace mask covering half her face. Her eyes shine bright with amusement, overshadowing the pain and emptiness her eyes are rumored to hold.
"I'm sorry," She speaks once she recovers from her fit of laughter. "I just find it amusing you think I'll give in to your commands." She pauses to put her hands in her coat pocket. "The only time I'll look at you when I speak is when the life is draining out of your eyes by my hand."
The room is silent. Not a single sound is heard.
"Fortunately, for you, that won't be for a long time." The corner of her mouth tilts slightly, not enough to be qualified as a smile. "Scruffy is right the note I left is a message and I will continue to leave you a message every day until I decide to kill you." She slowly walks backward to the ledge of the balcony. "Now all you have to do is figure out that message." She gracefully hops onto the ledge of the balcony. "Have a nice rest of your evening, ladies and gentlemen." And with those parting words, she falls backward off the ledge.
Alessio, Mario, and Devina run to the ledge, looking down trying to find where she went while Anderson, Marvin, and Stanley stand dumbfounded, trying to wrap their heads around what just happened.
"Scruffy," Marvin hisses. "She called me scruffy."
Devina, Alessio, and Mario come back from the balcony just as Raymond and Mia walk through the office doors. Mia frowns when she notices the expressions of her friends.
"What the hell did we miss?" She questions.
"Oh you know, just your everyday death threat." Anderson shrugs as if it's no big deal.
"Was it the Columbians?" Raymond asks.
"We don't know," Stanley holds up the picture for them to see. Raymond and Mia gasp in unison. "Midnight just paid us-me a little visit. Marvin will explain everything I need to kill some people." He sighs before starting towards my office door.
"Wait!" Mia shouts. Stanley stops in his tracks with his hand on the doorknob. He doesn't bother to turn around as she continues. "Don't you want to know whether you're having a niece or nephew?" Stanley turns around. Raymond and Mia now have the room's undivided attention.
"We're having a girl!" She says excitedly as tears stream down her cheeks. Devina and Mario engulf her in a hug as Anderson punches Raymond in the jaw. Alessio rushes to check on him as Marvin and Stanley stand still not knowing what to do.
"First you knock my sister up!" Anderson seethes. "And with a girl imagine the amount of people we are going to have to kill for looking at her inappropriately." His eyes widen in realization before a smile graces his features. "Imagine all the little dicks I'll get to cut off. Oh, I love you, Zozo! Thank you for knocking my sister up!" He gushes going in for a hug. Raymond pushes him away in disgust as they all laugh at Anderson's antics.
Anderson goes in for another hug, this time successfully succeeding. "Get off of me you fat fuck!"
"Mia!" Anderson whines. "Tell your baby daddy to stop being mean to me."
Mia gives Anderson a deadpan look. "Did you not just punch my baby daddy in the face?"
Anderson smiles innocently. "That's ancient history just like your baby daddy." Anderson lowers his voice to a whisper. "You had to pick the old man?"
"I'm only thirty-two," Raymond protests.
"Like I said old," Anderson replies. "Once you hit thirty you're old."
"You do realize you will be 'old' soon, right?" Raymond deadpans.
"I got six years," Anderson dismisses.
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